Blaze drama as £7k speedboat goes up in flames
THE owner of a speedboat destroyed in a suspected arson attack has told how he risked being caught up in the large blaze as he tried to move his other vehicles.
Danny Bird, 50, from Romiley, Stockport, woke in the early hours of Friday to find his £7,000 boat consumed by 30ft flames.
The fire had begun to spread to his truck which he raced to move, but was forced to wait inside as the brakes filled with sufficient air to work.
He moved the truck and then quickly had to drive his car out of harms way.
Danny, a self-employed gas engineer, said: “My wife woke me and I came outside. The boat was properly going and the fence was on fire.
“The truck was smoking and just about to catch fire so I got the keys to try and drive it out of the way.
“But there was no air in the brakes so I had to wait for that to build up. “It is the stupidity of setting fire to the boat, what gain is there? You could understand if they had pinched it. “I don’t know what to think about the people who have done it if that’s how they get their kicks.” Danny, who lives with his wife Michelle and son, regularly took the boat which was not insured - to Windermere in the Lake District and Loch Lomond, in Scotland.
He had fallen asleep on the sofa in front of the TV around two hours before the fire started.
A neighbour raised the alarm and but for his quick response the fire could have spread to a nearby garage.
Firefighters from Whitehill and Offerton stations were called at 4am and used hose reels and breathing apparatus to put out the blaze, remaining at the scene for around an hour.
The blaze also damaged the truck and the fascia boards on the garage suffered heat damage.
Matt Lewis, from Offerton fire station, said: “The fire was going very well when we arrived.
“The boat was well alight and flames were licking up into the air 20 or 30 feet.
“The owner is convinced the fire was deliberate so we have informed the police.”
Anyone with information can contact police on 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
It is the stupidity of setting fire to the boat, what gain is there Danny Bird